Reviews

Refreshing piece amongst the masses of low quality dramas out there

At first one might think this drama is all about solving mysteries which all unlock pieces to the final puzzle at the end and everyone goes home happy. This is not that drama. It's so much more than that. MLC is ultimately a heartfelt drama where the writers gently invite us to go on an emotional journey with the main character Li Lian Hua aka Li Xiang Yi where he ends up being confronted by his past, the reality of his past self, and his reconciliation with all that he was during the height of his renowned fame and reputation.

As many here have mentioned, it is a story that evokes a lot of emotion because it's centred around the themes of letting go, forgiveness, the chance to change, and that we are all but mere human beings, capable of mistakes, guilty of having a past that we might not be proud of, and appreciating the simplest things in life.

While the mysteries weren't executed in a way that allows the audience to delve into the stories and use our own deductions to solve the cases, the undeniable chemistry between the three leads, the brilliant and engimatic acting of Cheng Yi, the natural ease with which Joseph and Aero assumed their roles, and the concise and beautiful storytelling that is consistent with driving the plot forward all make MLC a profound viewing experience.

I think viewers would love to see more of this kind of theme-centred and mature narrative with strong character development in a sea of disappointing cdrama productions that has been saturated with use of vulgar clickbait videos or contrived romantic storylines with pretty faces as a means of garnering attention to an otherwise empty storyline.

MLC stands out amongst the rest because the writers and the production team seem to care about what they are doing and have put a lot of effort into delivering quality and consistency to its viewers, proving that China can produce noteworthy pieces that don't compromise on the authenticity of the narrative as a result of relying on cheap plot devices for the sake of guaranteed viewership ratings.

Watch MLC if you want something different to all that other stuff going on in subpar cdrama productions.

P.s. I absolutely loved the ending! (Unlike most!)

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On my favourite female kdrama character

I want to celebrate the end of ARTHDAL CHRONICLES s2 with a little note on Taealha, my favourite female character in all of kdrama so far.

I don't usually love girlbosses, and I normally wouldn't cheer to see one of the main antagonists of a series escape most of the consequences of her actions. But I loved this for Taealha, and I've been thinking hard about why this is.

What I think it boils down to is this: Taealha is an antagonist. But she's not a villain. And this speaks to one of the main themes I'm seeing in Asian dramas.

While an antagonist is any character who opposes the protagonists of a story, a villain is a character who is outright evil. Unusually for a character who's pitted against very idealistic heroes, Taealha isn't a villain, even though she helps to rule and uphold a desperately evil society. The show's morality is more white-and-grey than black-and-grey, in the manner of most Western grimdark fantasy, and I think that Asian drama generally views systemic change through a different lens than Western drama. In Asian drama, it is the rare heroic characters - like Tanya and Eunseom - who have the courage and vision to imagine a world that is any better than the one they inhabit. While Western storytelling sees injustice often as the action of an individual villain, Eastern storytelling sees injustice as the grinding of an impersonal social machine in which those who prop up the status quo are often as helplessly imprisoned within the system as those they rule over. Their fault may not be active malice, so much as the lack of vision, courage, and selfless compassion to fight for a better world.

I think this also has something to do with why so many people in the West have trouble with the concept of systemic injustice - they think that evil in society must be the work of a few bad actors, a few individual villains, rather than of a whole social order. I also note that in Eastern drama, especially in the shows which are more conscious of social justice (like SCARLET HEART RYEO and ARTHDAL CHRONICLES), the "villain" - insofar as there is one to pit against the idealistic heroes - is society at large. In many western dramas, on the other hand, it's clear the writers desperately want to believe that society at large is good; that collective action is only ever a force for justice and never for evil.

Despite being an antagonist opposing idealistic heroes, Taealha is able to be sympathetically portrayed because she, like everyone else, is caught between the gears of a cruel society. She may be rich, beautiful, deadly, and the heiress to a great lord, but in all her privilege she, too, is subject to the machinations of her father, of the king, and of Tagon, the man she loves. She is also not the only source of evil in the show - which makes it very, very clear that the evil in Arthdal stems from every ordinary citizen who profits from slavery and engages in war crimes. Taealha opposes Eunseom and Tanya, but she does not do so out of a desire to cause or profit from suffering. Rather, Taealha is a pragmatist whose lack of faith in the gods leads her to seek survival by working with the system rather than destroying it according to the divine will. What makes her sympathetic is that her motivation is always to protect the people she loves: Tagon and, later, Arok. In protecting her loved ones, Taealha only wants the same thing as Tanya and Eunseom - but because she has no faith in something greater than either herself or society, she chooses not to try to change the system, but to beat the system at its own game.

Taealha is no worse than anyone else in the show. She simply fails to be better - and that's a big part of why we still love her and cheer her on, even though she's one of the main antagonists.

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Best adorable and lovable drama highly recommend

What a lovely drama I enjoyed a lot from first to last episode so cute so sweet so lovable so admirable woah I want to go back to my youth again anyway I loved this drama a lot hopefully I want to see such dramas where female lead actors are not dummy and cold hearted male leads and female leads follows male lead but this drama wasn’t like that both were strong and cute personalities and second couple also had a great love story and chemistry and they waited for each other for so many years and yet finally they ended up together it’s good to marry a person who is best friend and other guy a friend was also done his role awesome way this story had a great friendship , love story, comedy, cuteness overloaded, dreams, achievements, marriage, students life, college life, work life hope they make more such dramas ❤all the best to the team

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it was good

I liked this drama, when i watched the first episode, i felt in love with the main couple. Some episodes were boring, nothing interesting happened, but this fact couldnt change my mind.
Sailom was so innocent, naive at some moments, good with everyone. He felt in love with Kang when he gave Sailom his umbrella and this was "love at first sight" Kang was evil, seek revenge, hate Sailom and his friends. He made a lot of mistakes and acted childlish from the beggining, but Sailom gave him a chance and forgave him. There wasnt a lot of drama, at the end Sailom`s brother went to jail, but it wasnt his fault and everything went well when he was realised from prison.
Nava and Gun are so cute together, but unfortunately they hated each other from the start and felt in love at the end of the series. At least we saw them kissing at the final episode.
I really like "from enemies to lovers" bl series, so i give "Dangerous romance" a total of 10 stars.

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Conflicted

As the headline suggests, I have very mixed feelings about this series.

Within the context of how the story is written, I would rate this as a solid 8/10.

Major Heartstopper vibes, cute story, good chemistry between the leads, just the right amount of tension with the love triangle, no toxic female characters. Acting, production value, colouring, editing and soundtrack are all good.

The plot is relatively simple and straightforward. Some major foreshadowing everything isn't as it seems when Nikko mentions he wants to be remembered as a positive person. MODC has made us all a little skittish. All good so far.

Then... everything goes sideways when the major point of dramatic tension is introduced.

Nikko faints, we get the big reveal, he has ALS. Bold choice, weird reveal because fainting isn't an ALS thing but whatever. Look back at previous episodes, Nikko's speech patterns, his fatigue, his mothers anxiety, kind of tracks, lets see how they are going to deal with this. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt.

Nikko goes back to school with a cane. Okay, again, not really how ALS plays out but lets be honest, these are 18 minute episodes. Not necessarily looking for an in depth examination of the disease process.

Strange conversations, doctor talking about interventions available in the States, Nikko talking about how he doesn't want to hold Eli back, the super dramatic scene of Nikko not being able to feel his legs.

At this point I gave up. My suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far.

I know this story, I've lived this story. My partner died of ALS. It is absolutely a story worth telling, unfortunately it isn't this story. If you are using a disease as a major plot point at least have some idea of what you are presenting. Google is pretty good like that.

ALS is a terminal, progressive, degenerative, neuromuscular disease. It affects voluntary control of your muscles. It doesn't happen in isolation, it doesn't affect sensory nerves. There are no treatment options beyond treating symptoms: pain, muscle spasms. Life expectancy is 2-5 years.

Nikko isn't just sick, he's dying. It's a matter of when and how not if. Given that as the story framework and how the disease actually presents, it's a whole different story. Equally as lovely, equally as dramatic. Just not this story.

Nikko would not have walked into his bedroom and woken up unable to walk or feel his legs. Progressive disease, doesn't affect sensory nerves

At that point in progression, he would never have been able to open the wheelchair let alone transfer himself into it unaided. His arms would have been too weak and his fine motor control of his hands would have been compromised. There isn't even a transfer pole in his room.

The prom dance, beautiful scene. If the disease had progressed to that point where Nikko couldn't stand, his diaphragm would be weakening. Eli holding him like that would have been so painful and he wouldn't have been able to breathe. Not such a beautiful scene now.

Interventions, and I will concede that might be a translation error during the conversations with the doctor, there are 3: breathing tube, feeding tube or experimental drug therapy. No need to go to the US for the first 2, opportunity for plot development if it is the 3rd option. At least very different conversations with the doctor, or between Nikko and his mother, Nikko and Justine or Nikko and Eli.

So close in the scene with the mother and counselor. Give the mom one more minute of screen time outside loading the wheelchair to completely break down alone. Elevates the 1 dimensional character into someone struggling but maintaining a brave face in front of everyone else, her son included. Any caregiver would relate to that.

So, I'm conflicted.

As the story was written, it was okay. Sweet and lovely with a tragic twist.

As someone who has dealt with ALS, disease isn't a just plot device. This story is a disservice to people who have ALS and the people who care about them. I realize I'm heavily biased so here is my question.

Is it okay to use something as a plot device without any real understanding or representation of what it is?

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Good. Could have been better

Why is the title Dangerous Romance? Is it because of the social standing of the two leads? Or is it because really violence is involved?

Honestly speaking, the same trope of enemies to lovers and smart boy tutoring the dumb boy and falling in love has been overused, even by GMMTV standards.
So, I will just write about a few things only.

Firstly, nobody is happy with their surroundings. Sailom is poor but has a living relationship with his caring elder brother. Kanghan is rich, has everything but feels neglected. Anybody else in Kanghan's place would have been happy but not Kanghan. Boy wants his father to focus on him. Which is absolutely right. There is less drama that is why they had to bring in bullying.

Sailom is poor but possess a spine of steel. He is the top student of his year and is getting a special scholarship to study in the prestigious school. And works when he is not studying to earn money. Chimon was channeling his inner Wasuthorn when he was answering the math questions written on the whiteboard.

While at first disliking (or not really) Kanghan, he starts to become friends with him. Sailom's friendship changes Kanghan for good. I like how Perth managed to show the slow but gradual growth until he falls in love.

Sailom falls first but Kanghan falls harder. And Kanghan is not a windmill in love but a hurricane. The upgrade of him from enemy to friend to lover to sugar daddy was pretty quick. And his possessiveness over his love is also immense but his heart is at the right place.

Sailom is a pure hearted boy. He sees expensive things but does not touch them. He has a rich boyfriend but does not take advantage of him, even whe jokingly mentions himself as expensive.

the actual flow of the story starts around episode 10. Kanghan gets mad at his dad and elopes with his boyfriend. But being the dutiful son-in-law and friend Sailom keeps Kanghan's dad updated. In fact, Kanghan's dad and grandma trust Sailom more than Kanghan. I was snorting a lot.

the plot thickens as Kang's father gets shot and Sailom's brother admits his fault. A rift starts between the two. Kanghan's love and possessiveness wins though. Sailom is wind and Kanghan is windmill. Without Sailom Kanghan is nothing.

The rest of the episodes are like Bollywood melodrama. Guns blazing, thugs entering hospital, firings ensued, Kanghan gets shot but no blood comes out. I am glad that they did not extend that shot otherwise I would really drop the series at that point.

The show mentioned teen escort services due to poverty which I was not ready to witness.

The side couple of Nawa and Guy is much more interesting. Pawin and Marc have been main leads of My Gear, Your Gown series and are an established pair of BL world. They portray the same type of enemies to lovers trope but I enjoyed Nawa more than Pai because of his sassiness.

Overall, it's an okay series. I for one will not be rewatching it.

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such a simple elegant cute sweet love story

I really really enjoy the acting of them. Their acting so effortlessly elegant and handsome. The story is a bit rushed I know but still their interactions, bickering, cute moments are so simple yet so beautiful. I have never seen such a smooth acting and this feels so real. Like how the punching marks still remains in their faces not like other bl's where after one day they just healed them. And also as Meen was staying outside he just had to wore the same shirt, this also feel so relatable. And they flirted with each other sa casually. How Jeng was being so smooth with those flirting and all. And he never ashamed about being a virgin still now.
I really they have their own series. They are so good. Please have them their own show.

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One of the best BL Drama to ever exist - Groundhog Day but make it BL

A solid plot and the proper way to tell the story - that is what Triage is.
Triage is a journey. The journey of Dr Tin, of becoming a changed man, from a self-centred person to an empathetic doctor and a genuine human being. And we are the witness of his change.

Another mature plot from the writer of Manner of Death that tackles a very serious problem of organ trafficking. I am glad that the writer chose such a topic for her story.

Each episode has perfect amount of elements to keep me engaged in the flow of the story. From the first episode , they have deftly managed the medical protocols. Yes, there maybe some exaggeration but for a normal viewer from nonmedical background, it seemed great.

The plot can get a bit repetitive for some, it gets repetitive and tiring for Dr Tin as well. But it is a puzzle he needs to solve himself. Otherwise there is no salvation for him. The slow burn plot is my jam.

Jinta provides accurate amount of mystery and magic realism/fantasy moments paired with humour.

The main leads act like flowing river, spontaneous and fluent in chemistry, portraying their confusion, anger, pain, hesitation, capitulation and gradual intimacy.

The two male leads falling in love is just beautiful. I am in love with them. I have a special place in my heart for Sing , his character is very well written and Tonnam's acting justified it. I wish I could see him in many more roles like this. The side story of Sing and Gap may seem a bit underdeveloped, but it's a real sweet one.

All the support roles have done brilliant jobs. The guest appearance of Dr Bun and tan , ah my MaxTul heart was screaming in happiness.

There are plotholes of course.

1. How did Dr Doi enter Sing's house?
2. How is it possibel for two unarmed doctors, outrun trained thugs with guns?
3. Tol's disguise as a doctor was the funniest.
4. The dreamlike sequences could have been a bit better.

But hey. I absolutely enjoyed this series despite all the things I mentioned. Triage has taken its place in my top 5.
An job excellently done. Kudos to the team.

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A new outlook on villainess(es)

I was on a search for time traveling story plot right after watching A Time Called You with Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been with a great twist compared to regular time-traveling dramas these days.

I watched two of Zhou Ye’s previous works and loved her sparkling eyes, her acting needs some improvements however. So
I ventured on another one with her acting as a main lead hoping this will be something that would make a mark. And it did. More than expected. The feeling of overachieved is so much better than a disappointment. FR!

I didn’t think I’d have liked it as much as I do, probably 2 eps and left. Well, I finished 11 eps in one night. Needless to say, though I could hardly stay awake the next day, I couldn’t wait for the night to come so I could continue with her time-traveling adventures.

The story isn’t new yet how the director’s and script writers’ new takes on villainess(es) was beautifully done. The viewers get to see the reason behind the villainess(es)’s action. They are not a bunch of bad eggs. Sometimes, circumstances and their over-achieved character aka passion for love drive them to a rather darker road especially, when there are no one who would wait for them in the other end. The villainess(es) can change once they realize the ugly truth thus, knowing they are loved, care for like every other person.
On the other hand, the so-call kind and smart protagonist such as Mu Yao, Zhong Ye Lan could be so annoyed and heartless when the camera rolls are on them. The situation makes us viewers feel sympathy towards them however; their stubbornness and silliness (with a weak nature) are part of many reason we feel frustrated towards their decisions and actions. How could you be so one dimensional and still be loved by many (male partners?!)

This storyline gives me hope in a smarter, calculated yet kind and strong characters. For those that not naturally evil, they simply are strong-willed and know what they want, and go get it. As human, we all make mistake. They can change the path if they are given a new start. Though not everyone is lucky enough to have that. The same goes with Hua Qian, she thought she was given a second chance to revert her action and be a better person, to fix almost everything.
*******Spoiler: however, it was only a dream. She still needed to wake up and deal with the consequences. She was lucky to have someone who cared and stood by her the entire time. Some were perhaps not that fortunate.

I wish there was a couple more ep to really define a happy ending and how she recovered from her mental breakdown, start over. But, I understand how the writers wanted to leave it at that for us to linger, to imagine and to wish her a new start with her man, who had loved her since the beginning of time.

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Boring

See who ships love story might like this . Yes , it had love story but the chemistry between the leads started in episode 23 and in episode 24 they get separated and in episode 25 she cameback to him . I hope this would give you a glimpse how the story would go . So basically till episode 21 the story was . They came together due to a circumstances and because of that they had to live together . In between they had fallen for each other. But not sure about their feelings . When they were sure so unable to tell each other . Then jealousy, misunderstanding,then misunderstanding had cleared,patch up and ultimately separated. So in this way the story went.
It was a time waste to watch it.

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MY NEW COMFORT KDRAMA

I was in a HUGE kdrama slump. i had no interest in watching any new releases especially ongoing dramas… i was even in my cdrama era for awhile but Twinkling Watermelon brought me out of my slump. I had like no expectations for this drama. I just kept seeing it on my TL and saw it was highly rated on Viki so i wanted to give it a chance. The first 2 episodes were really depressing and confusing for me so i kinda had to push through and i’m so glad i did because i instantly got hooked on episode 3 and i’ve been tuning in every week since episode 7 from then on. I love everything about this drama from the storyline, family, friendships, romance, music, comedy, angst, acting, etc. It’s everything i look for in a kdrama. ‘90s youth band dramas will always be my comfort. I know people refer to this as a time travel drama but i see it more as a youth drama. Anyways, we have 4 more episodes and i’m wishing for a happy ending because i can’t really predict the ending at all… I just know i’ll go back to this drama a lot and you’ll see my talking about it 3 years from now.

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The first ever kdrama I've watched!!

This was the first kdrama I've watched. When my mom was watching this, I used to watch this. I was very young and I couldn't understand anything but I can remember I really loved its music. That's why I watched it along with my mom. so when I grew up, I watched this again and yes I love it despite its sad, tragic ending. Song Hye Kyo was very young and beautiful and all the child actors did an amazing job. Song Hye Kyo was the reason why I rewatched it and ofcourse my childhood memories made me watch it again. Unique plot and amazing actors. the ending broke me but still I like it but I will skip the ending if I watch it again. overall, I recommend this drama but let me tell you, it's full of sad scenes than the happy scenes. Happy scenes are very limited in this drama!!

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Deserve higher ratings

Impressed by the story and great acting of the two major actors, desperately looking forward the season 2.
By the way, do I have the chance to watch the season 2 in rest of my life? If not, i will die with my eyes open. Bright and Nonkul, i know you two from this series, but it’s not enough. I hope both of you to show us more good work in the future.
Who haven’t watched this excellent series yet? It’s a great pity you know! Just watch it immediately. It won’t let you down .
Finally, the story and bright &nonkul will linger in my heart for a long time!

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If Perfection has a visual representation that is this drama

First, let me gush a little bit why this show is so prevalent for me. Frangipani flowers hold a really special value to me. I have some of the best memories with it. My school premises had a huge frangipani tree that was teeming with flowers almost whole year. My best friend and I used to collect the flowers that fell from the tree on the ground, beautiful white petals with specks of gold in the centre and the heavenly scent was both of our favourite.

Then we grew up, moved cities to find our lives. We are in touch but not as much as we were before.
And now that I go to office, I found another frangipani tree on the way, smaller than the one I knew, but full of bloom. They remind me me of my sweet time of childhood. Out of habit, I collect them and take them with me.

Never did I ever imagine that someday, someone will make a whole series using frangipani flower as a symbol of love. Because it is not a fancy flower. It is not used in traditional worship offering, it is not something one gifts their lovers with, it is not even given a second glance. So when I saw the flower used as a symbol of love I was delighted.

The seemingly insignificant flower gets such love is also a proof of every ordinary person has their own extraordinary story . Jom is an ordinary man in his timeline but his story of love is extraordinary.

Now that I got it out of my chest , let us move to the series itself.
The plot, the storytelling, the characters, the writing, the acting , the cinematography, the music - everything is superior.
I Fee You Linger in the Air is not a series, it is feeling, a vibe, a piece of pure art. A gem of production.

I know Nonkul is a very strong actor. And his previous works show that. Bright on the other hand is fairly new but their chemistry together is absolutely marvelous. And the support characters have done such a great job that I am speechless. The portrayal of the 1920s Chiang Mai is enacted beautifully.

Tee Bundit has exceeded my expectations with this. One of the best drama series ever and not just in the category of BLs.
I am eagerky waiting for the special episode and the season 2.

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